FIRST SECTION
DECISION
Application no. 14725/18
Mirosława BOBOWICZ
against Poland
The European Court of Human Rights (First Section), sitting on 8 June 2021 as a Committee composed of:
Lorraine Schembri Orland, President,
Krzysztof Wojtyczek,
Ioannis Ktistakis, judges,
and Liv Tigerstedt, Deputy Section Registrar,
Having regard to the above application lodged on 21 March 2018,
Having deliberated, decides as follows:
FACTS AND PROCEDURE
1. The applicant, Ms Mirosława Bobowicz, a Polish national, was born in 1930 and died in 2018. She lived in Warsaw. She was represented before the Court by Mr K. Trzaska, a lawyer practising in Wołomin.
2. The Polish Government (“the Government”) were represented by their Agent, Mr J. Sobczak of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
3. The applicant’s complaints under Articles 6 and 13 of the Convention and Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 to the Convention were communicated to the Government on 27 February 2019.
4. On 7 October 2019 and 15 October 2019, the Court received friendly settlement declarations signed by the applicant’s representative and the Government. According to the terms of the declaration the Government were to pay the applicant 2,000 euros.
5. On 26 November 2019, the Court (First Section) sitting as a Committee, decided to strike the application out of its list of cases in accordance with Article 39 of the Convention after a friendly settlement was reached.
6. On 5 June 2020 the Government made a request to restore the application to the Court’s list of cases. In the process of executing the Court’s decision they became aware of the fact that the applicant had died on 3 April 2018.
7. On 15 September 2020 the Court decided to reopen the case.
8. By a letter dated 7 November 2020 the applicant’s representative informed the Court that Mr Wojciech Bobowicz, the applicant’s son and her heir, wished to pursue the application before the Court. He did not attach any documents in support of his statements. The Government did not make any comments on these submissions.
9. By letter dated 4 December 2020, send by registered mail, the applicant’s representative was invited to provide, no later than 21 December 2020, a copy of a document proving the capacity of Mr Wojciech Bobowicz as heir of the deceased applicant. The letter was delivered to the applicant’s lawyer’s office on 15 December 2020. However, no documents have been received to date and no explanation has been provided for the failure to comply with the Registry’s instructions.
THE LAW
10. The Court reiterates that, where the applicant has died after the application was lodged, it has accepted that the next-of-kin or heir may in principle pursue the application, provided that he or she has sufficient interest in the case (see, for example, Centre for Legal Resources on behalf of Valentin Câmpeanu v. Romania [GC], no. 47848/08, § 97, ECHR 2014, with further references). The Court has also established that it is for the heir who wishes to pursue the proceedings before the Court to substantiate his or her standing to do so (see, for example, Belskiy v. Russia (dec.), no. 23593/03, 26 November 2009).
11. In the present case, despite the Court’s express request, Mr Wojciech Bobowicz did not provide any document to confirm acceptance of the late applicant’s succession.
12. Against this background, the Court finds that the request to pursue the proceedings was submitted by a person who has provided no evidence of his status as an heir (see, mutatis mutandis, Léger v. France (striking out) [GC], no. 19324/02, § 50, 30 March 2009).
13. In the light of the foregoing, in accordance with Article 37 § 1 (c) of the Convention, the Court considers that it is no longer justified to continue the examination of the application. Furthermore, it does not consider that “respect for human rights as defined in the Convention and the Protocols” requires the examination of the application
In view of the above, it is appropriate to strike the case out of the list.
For these reasons, the Court, unanimously,
Decides to strike the application out of its list of cases.
Done in English and notified in writing on 1 July 2021.
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Liv TigerstedtLorraine Schembri Orland
Deputy RegistrarPresident
Full & Egal Universal Law Academy